Makers with a Mission Autumn 2021

By Esther Ellard

Makerversity has always offered 20% of all memberships for free, as part of our residency programmes – Under 25’s and Makers with a Mission.

This Autumn, after a short pandemic related break, we’re back with a new cohort of Makers with a Mission, using the space and community to further their businesses and projects. Here, we meet them all and learn a little more about what they are up to…

ShADe

Our mission is to end greenwashing in the fashion industry.

The environmental crisis has given rise to a generation of conscious consumers deliberately making purchases that are sustainable and ethical. In response, fast fashion is targeting them with greenwashing instead of improving the environmental and ethical impact of their business. Greenwashing makes it impossible for consumers to identify sustainable brands, and makes it impossible for truly sustainable brands to stand out in the noise.

We are inspired by the younger generations of GenZ and Millennials who refuse to turn a blind eye to the current state of the world. Everyday, all over the world, it is these people relentlessly fighting for their right to shape a sustainable and ethical future, no matter if it’s against powerful individuals, organisations or governments. As makers, we must play our role in helping them shape their future by developing the right tools, services and systems to support their beliefs, values and actions.

There’s nothing better at getting your brain juices flowing than being surrounded by fellow disruptive makers so we’re here to learn, support and cheer them on, because together we’re all working tirelessly to create a better future. For us, it starts with shADe.

Hannah Williams Studio – MARBLESIL

Hannah Williams Studio is the creator and founder of MarbleSil®, MarbleSil® is a handmade luxury marbled silicone product that can be used for a variety of purposes, from wall covering, flooring, furniture and even exterior architectural purposes. Having also worked with major retailers such as Adidas and Bicester Village creating window and interior displays for them. MarbleSil® is waterproof, slip proof and can withstand temperature extremes from -59°c – 26-°c.

Whilst it is soft and squishy to touch, it’s a highly durable and robust material that is about being a lifetime luxury product, that will never end up in landfill.

Here at the studio I am driven by a no waste policy and all waste remnants and offcuts go back into designs such as the Terrazzo effect.

I have been designing my own system when it comes to purchasing my products, each product is about a lifetime piece that can be sent back to the studio and re-worked into something new. Then each product has a QR code where the end user can then see the lifecycle of each product, whether it be the birth of the product or in the midst of its lifecycle. Getting the end user excited about the journey of re-inventing each product and making it a fun process to never end up in landfill.

This will then allow less virgin material to be used and become more cost effective in the long run.

Why are we consuming products when we only use them, think about product subscription!

This is something I am continuing to develop and will be my main focus at Markerversity, I plan to create a whole new product that is made up of 90% recycled silicone from MarbleSil waste through to various other silicone products that would otherwise end up in landfill. These will then be granulated down and put into new products, allowing to minimise silicone waste within the silicone industry.

To find out more about Hannah click here

James Haywood

I design and build contemporary furniture using recycled materials. Materials include waste-crete, which is a concrete that’s made using blast furnace slag and waste PETG from hospitals. I also use up-cycled wood and cotton. In terms of processes, I make extensive use of additive methods but also carving and wood-working.

Over the next 6 months with Makerversity, I hope to start making use of new materials such as recycled cork and bio-sourced resin, and to develop limited edition series of my most popular works.